Redwall animals in real life

[Jukka the Sling]

Wow.  How has the rat managed to live this long?!

[Krantor the Brutal]

I have no idea, I see it scurry up the tree in the mornings; and the owl hoots at night from the same tree. Anyone have an idea why?

[Ashleg]

The owl is allowing the rat shelter and in turn the rat is doing errands for the owl.

[MeadowR]

Iiiinteresting!

I don't often see rats in the wild, but my cat brought in his first a few weeks back... dead (thankfully. Don't really want a big rat scuttling around the house!)

Since my original post, I have seen a weasel and a stoat in the wild. Woo! The weasel up a hill in Scotland, and a stoat was running across a main road a bit nearer to where I am. Fortunately made it across safely!

[The Skarzs]

I have about five rats in my garage. . . Big ones, too.

[MeadowR]

Yikes!

[Ashleg]

I love rats. Take a picture of them, Skarzs.

[The Skarzs]

. . . Probably won't. Unless I catch them in a trap. In which case they will be dead and you will be sad.

[Wylder Treejumper]

Alternatively, poison works well.

[The Skarzs]

(We have rat traps but no poison. Otherwise I would use it.)

It is pretty obvious where Brian got inspiration for his animals. But what places was he aware of that had the other animals, like the ones on islands? The monitors, the sea snake, the hamster. . .

[Ashleg]

Well, they all exist. Chances he saw pictures of them and liked them. And Mokug wasn't Brian's creation.

[MeadowR]

Was Mokug the hamster? I wondered why there was a hamster in the book. His parents, or just him, must have travelled pretty far.

[Ashleg]

Mokug was the hamster. I'm almost 99% sure I read that he was submitted by a fan in response to a contest and Brian chose him.

[The Skarzs]

For real? Wow! That would have been cool.

[MeadowR]

I do feel like I have heard that before, some time back, actually. Where's that fan now, eh? Possibly not all that deserving if they aren't even fan enough to be on this forum all these years on!